D Blog Week- Day 3: What Brings Me Down

"May is Mental Health Month so now seems like a great time to explore the emotional side of living with, or caring for someone with, diabetes. What things can make dealing with diabetes an emotional issue for you and/ or your loved one, and how do you cope?"

Wow

I personally think this a great topic because it delves deeper into diabetes than most would think.

 I constantly get others "friendly input" on how easy it is to manage Type One- how I have the technological equipment to adequately control my disease . . . yet it's not that straight forward. 

First off, the "technological equipment" has its setbacks. Sure, we have come milestones from the discovery of insulin. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. Yet diabetes isn't something you can just shrug off. It doesn't stop at "how far we have come".

Secondly, the psychological side to Type One is big. Every day presents itself with different challenges and setbacks. Every challenge takes a mental toll. The "what ifs" never stop bombarding your thinking. Whether day or night, diabetes doesn't stop.

As of this past week, our hearts grieved with the family that lost their loved one. 

A young diabetic girl died in her sleep with "complications of Type One Diabetes". In this case, her "complication"was a low blood sugar. "Complications". Complications that every Type One faces, every Type One dreads. What does all the other Type Ones think . . . what do they say? 

My mind still hasn't stopped thinking about her family and the grief they are experiencing. The more I think about her and her family, the faster my mind spins. I can't find peace in my heart on my own.

Which leads to the last question, "How do you cope?" 

For some, they don't. They succumb to their grief, their pain . . . they lose.

For myself, I can't find anything in myself, but I can find everything in God. 

I know for some, this may be an automatic "turn off". But for me, it is everything. God provides the reason for living, the reason for my existence . I don't know the future, but I know someone who does.

I may never know the true reason that I have Type One Diabetes, why my younger siblings have Type One, but I know that God does- and that's good enough for me!